The New York Rangers defenseman practiced with the team on Tuesday and doesn't have a timetable for his return to actual game action, but hopes to be back by the end of the regular season. The NHL playoffs begin on April 30.

Rangers defenseman Marc Staal needed surgery on broken bones on the right side of his face. (@jessespector)

Staal added that his facial fractures have healed, but his vision still isn't 100 percent. Whatever percentage it's at, though, is good enough for him to practice and start thinking about playing in games—and that borders on amazing, given how ugly the scene was in Philadelphia on March 5, when a shot by Flyers defensemen Kimmo Timonen was tipped up and into Staal's visor-less face.

The thinking is that the union will soon vote on the issue and, hopefully, grandfather in mandatory visor usage. All players are forced to wear either visors or full cages before they reach the NHL, including in the CHL and AHL.

Staal, understandably, regrets not wearing a visor before his accident and said he'll vote yet on the grandfathering rule, but "hindsight's 20/20."

Indeed.

"That first week was pretty scary," Staal said. "I don't think my wife slept the first four nights, wiping blood off my eye and off my face. She's been huge at home, as have been my parents and brothers. It's amazing how small the hockey world is and how many reach out to wish you as well. The amount of information you can get is great."

Staal, 26, bounced back this season from concussion-related issues to cement his status as a legitimate top-four defenseman. He has 11 points in 21 games and averages 24:27 of ice time. The Rangers have gone 8-8-2 without him and are 19-16-4 overall.